throughout the year to the executive and legislative branches of government, some of which were accepted and some of which were not. The Council will again call attention to certain of these issues if future circumstances warrant. One continuing concern of the Council is the implementation of recommendations that were contained in the three congressional mandated studies carried out by the FCA and submitted to the White House over a year ago. The studies on State Formulae for Funding Programs under the Older Americans Act, The Interrelationships of Benefit Programs for the Elderly and The Impact of the Tax Structure on the Elderly still contain timely and significant recommendations which should be given full consideration. This annual report concludes with our agenda for the Council in 1977. We shall issue recommendations from time to time during the year which we hope will be useful to the President, the Congress, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Commissioner on Aging. We welcome referral of national policy questions affecting older Americans from the administrative and legislative branches. Sincerely, BERTHA S. ADKINS, Chairman. [Enclosure.] PREFACE LEGISLATIVE MANDATE The Federal Council on the Aging was created by the Congress under provisions of the 1973 amendments to the Older Americans Act, for the purpose of advising the President, the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Commissioner on Aging, and the Congress on matters relating to the special needs of older Americans. The Older Americans Act directs the Federal Council on the Aging to perform the following functions: 1. Advise and assist the President on matters relating to the special needs of older Americans. 2. Assist the Commissioner in making the appraisal of the Nation's existing and future personnel needs in the field of aging. 3. Review and evaluate on a contiuing basis, Federal policies regarding the aging and programs and other activities affecting the aging conducted or assisted by all Federal departments and agencies for the purpose of appraising their value and their impact on the lives of older Americans. 4. Serve as a spokesman on behalf of older Americans by making recommendations to the President, to the Secretary, the Commissioner, and to the Congress with respect to Federal policies regarding the aging and federally conducted or assisted programs and other activities related to or affecting them. 5. Inform the public about the problems and needs of the aging, in consultation with the National Clearinghouse on Aging, by collecting and disseminating information, conducting or commissioning studies, and publishing the results thereof, and by issuing publications and reports. 6. Provide public forums for discussing and publicizing the problems and needs of the aging and obtaining information relating thereto by conducting public hearings, and by conducting or sponsoring conferences, workshops, and other such meetings. MEMBERSHIP The Council is composed of 15 members nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Commissioner on Aging serve as ex officio members of the Council. On October 21, 1976, President Ford welcomed to the White House five members of the Federal Council on the Aging who were sworn in to new terms of office by John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The members were: Mrs. John William Devereux, Msgr. Charles J. Fahey, John B. Martin, Harry S. Holland, and Nat T. Winston, Jr. The sixth member, Hon. Bertha S. Adkins, Chairman of the Council, was sworn in at the same time in Augusta, Maine, where she was addressing the Governor's Conference on Aging. The President said: In the 2 years since its foundation, the Council has made very substantial contributions to the well-being of our older Americans, particularly in making recommendations designed to improve tax policy and coordinate benefit programs for our older citizens. In America, in recent years, the Federal Council on the Aging has led the way to a record of solid progress in helping many of our older citizens lead independent, satisfying, and healthy lives. Ten members of this Council are themselves older persons. They and the other members fully represent older Americans, national organizations with an interest in aging, business, labor, and the general public as called for in the law. COUNCIL ROSTER Federal Council on the Aging, Room 4260, HEW North Building, 330 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, D.C. Chairman, Bertha S. Adkins; Vice Chairman, Garson Meyer; Executive Director, Cleonice Tavani. Bertha S. Adkins, of Oxford, Md., former Under Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Nelson H. Cruikshank, of the District of Columbia, president, National Council of Senior Citizens; former Director of Department of Social Security, AFL-CIO. Dorothy L. Devereux, of Honolulu, Hawaii, former Member of the Hawaii State House of Representatives. di Charles J. Fahey, The Reverend Monsignor, of Syracuse, N.Y., rector of the Catholic Charities for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse; president of the American Association of Homes for the Aging. Sharon M. Fujii, Ph. D., of Santa Monica, Calif., vice president of Gerontological Planning Associates. Frank B. Henderson, of Worthington, Pa., director, nutrition services, Armstrong County Community Action Agency; chairman, building committee, board of directors of Armstrong County Health Center. Seldon G. Hill, of Orlando, Fla., member of the Regional AreaWide Planning Council on the Aging; past president and board member, Retired Citizen's Association. Harry S. Holland, of Phoenix, Ariz., retired from Social Security Administration; chairman of Governor's Task Force on Retirement and Aging. Hobart C. Jackson, of Philadelphia, Pa., executive vice president and director, Stephen Smith Geriatric Center; founder and first chairman of the National Caucus on the Black Aged and presently a member of its executive committee. John B. Martin, of Chevy Chase, Md., former Commissioner on Aging; legislative consultant to the National Retired Teachers Association and the American Association of Retired Persons. Garson Meyer, of Rochester, N.Y., retired executive of Eastman Kodak; president emeritus of the National Council on the Aging; chairman, advisory committee, New York Office of the Aging; chairman of the board, Genesee Savings and Loan Association. Bernard E. Nash, of Camp Springs, Md., program consultant and former executive director of the National Retired Teachers Association and the American Association of Retired Persons; president, International Federation on Aging. Frell M. Owl, of Cherokee, N.C., retired from the Bureau of Indian Affairs; member of the Indian Advisory Council of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. Lennie-Marie P. Tolliver, of Oklahoma City, Okla., professor and associate director, school of social work, the University of Oklahoma; member, Salvation Army Senior Centers board of directors, Oklahoma City. Nat T. Winston, Jr., M.D., of Nashville, Tenn., vice president, Hospital Affiliates International; former State Commissioner of Mental Health in Tennessee. EX OFFICIO MEMBERS The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Commissioner on Aging. 1976 OVERVIEW ANNUAL REPORTS AND MANDATED STUDIES This third annual report of the Federal Council on the Aging is presented in accordance with provisions of the Older Americans Act. The Council is required to transmit: findings and recommendations to the President not later than March 31 of each year. The President shall transmit each such report to the Congress with his comments and recommendations. Studies of "The Impact of the Tax Structure on the Elderly" and "The Interrelationships of Benefit Programs for the Elderly" were mandated of the Council in the 1973 amendments to the Older Americans Act. The studies were completed and submitted to the President in December 1975. The 1975 FCA annual report was presented to the President in January 1976. The studies and annual report were transmitted by the President to Congress in August 1976. The President expressed appreciation for the fine work of the Council and said: ..the Council's report and studies provide documentation from the viewpoint of our elderly citizens, which support the need for legislation along the lines of my proposed Financial Assistance for Health Care Act and the Income Assistance Simplification Act which I will be proposing shortly. The response continued in part: With respect to the supplemental security income (SSI) program, the Council has recommended in its program report that legislation be passed that mandates continuance of a specific State supplementation for certain recipients. The Federal Government took over this program from the States on January 1, 1974, and provided a basic payment level to recipients. For those individuals who received benefits under the State programs in December 1973 that were larger than the basic Federal payment level, and who continue to be eligible for SSI, States are required to supplement the basic Federal payment up to the level of the December 1973 payment to such recipients. The requirement does not apply to new recipients who became eligible after December 1973. The Council's legislative proposal would require that the size of the State supplementation to recipients carried over from the State programs on January 1, 1974, could not be reduced. Thus, whenever the basic Federal payment level is increased, this proposal would allow States to continue to maintain a disparity in the benefits for the carried over recipients versus those recipients who came on the rolls after December 1973a disparity equal to the amount of the original State supplementation. Adoption of this recommendation would have two effects. First, it would dictate to the States how they should spend the taxes they assess on their residents. Such action would distort the original concept of the program of separate but complementary roles of the States and the Federal Government. Second, it would require the States to maintain payments to people based on the date they started receiving assistance, even though other residents of the States may have equivalent needs and incomes. The Council also recommends that the Veterans' Administration (VA) be directed to study the problem of benefit reduction rates caused by simultaneous receipt of benefits from pensions for veterans with non-service-connected disabilities and other Federal programs. We share the concern of the Council. This problem is being studied by the Veterans' Administration within the context of total reform of the veterans' pension program. The agency has discussed pension reform with both the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees, and is committed to continuing these discussions with Congress this year. The relationship of veterans' pensions to other Federal benefits can best be addressed in the course of these discussions. To assess the tax burden on the elderly, the Older Americans Act also required the Council to undertake a study of the combined impact of all taxes on the elderly. Since many of the tax recommendations of the Council are directed toward State and local government, consistent with the enabling authority I am also transmitting this study to the Governors and legislatures of the States for their consideration. In recognition of the Bicentennial and the many contributions made by older Americans to the welfare of the Nation, the Council's annual report requests the promulgation of a |